


Skin & Bone

by Grievous_Girl



Category: Undertail - Fandom, Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: 18+, Drama, F/M, Frisk - Freeform, Multi, NSFW, Older Characters, Older Frisk, Romance, Sans - Freeform, Undertail, if you dont like it fuck off, undertale - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-25
Updated: 2016-02-07
Packaged: 2018-05-09 06:05:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5528819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Grievous_Girl/pseuds/Grievous_Girl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Frisk tells you a tale of how she and her closest friends and family have lived on after coming back to the surface. Frisk has grown up and now faces the realities of both her age, desires, and responsibilities; to herself and to those around her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Skeletons Do Cry

My name is Frisk, just Frisk, and I’ve had a very weird life. In a short sum up? Attempted suicide thirteen years ago into an ancient mountain landed me in the arms of several enduring friendships and a most unusual family. I helped them all, my newly acquired friends and family and bystanders, break free of their underground lands back up to Earth’s surface after they had all been trapped in that mountain for hundreds of years prior. After that I accepted to become their ambassador and got adopted into a loving home.

The Longer version of this tale is, if you can imagine, a bit more . . . complex. 

As a child, alone and mute in an orphanage with other human children who would pick on me for not being able to speak, I was very lonely. Afraid. Sad. Countless of families walked in seeking children to bring into their fold, Mothers and Fathers with happy smiles and warm hearts, but I was always skipped over. I know that an adult does not think twice of their selection if they end up with the best pick of any litter of pups, so why pick the runt over the healthy pup? That's how I thought back then, that I was some dog with no bark and no bite and no one to love me. 

You cannot imagine what it is like to yell for help as you are pelted with snowballs filled with rocks by older children, their mean games causing my skin to freeze and bruise under their abuse; a wolf left howling with no pact to hear their cry. I was a good for nothing dog and I figured . . . good for nothing dogs deserved to be put down. The caretakers at the orphanage said my peers actions were nothing more than children’s games and overlooked me. They always overlooked me and that was how I was able to easily slip away one night from my room.

I ran in the dark, till midnight was high above me, and my feet carried on where my mind could not. I came to the Mountain, looked into her gaping pit, and felt my body fall into ebony bliss. It would have ended if not for the pile of yellow flowers that cushioned my fall. There we still many broken bones of course, but I was alive - alive enough to meet Flowey and Torial. Alive enough to see Sans and Papyrus. Undyne, Alyphus, Mettaton, Asgore, Asriel . . . lots of “A” names.

Despite the anger and suffering I had in my soul about how my fellow Humans treated me before the descent, despite how bitter or angry I could have been to anyone peoples, I opened my heart and arms to all I meet down in the Underground. I saved them, and they saved me.

Eventually, as I said before, we all left the mountain and came to the surface where there was the promise for new beginnings; a hope that all would be well. But what a ten year old and several thousands of Monsters did not expect to greet them in this grand unfolding was the numerable annoying politics and social stigmas that would stand in their way to complete assimilation. Prejudice and racism was harshly rampant for a good years years after that in riots and rebellion within the Human populations, but it was quelled by the Human government’s of the world; slightly. Don’t get me wrong, any progress is good progress but I would have liked to walk down our cities streets with my Mother without her getting disgusted looks or comments sent her way by bigoted humans. Now that I'm older and I have a better sense of things, they don’t get away with treating Torial like at anymore. 

Years rolled by and I grew from that child-savoir into a person of decent standing; I think. On that note I would like to say something. I am Frisk, just Frisk, and I honestly don’t care how people had preserved me or would perceive me from this point on. I am who I am, and if you make the choice to stick this out this little “biography” of mine out till the end . . . then you're just gonna have to accept any bits that make you uncomfortable. That said, I prefer they pronouns. “She” is acceptable, “he” is fine, but do not call me an “it”. Being an it makes me feel like I am a dog again. It made a mess on the ground, it chewed on the furniture again, it is so ugly looking. Get the picture? They, she, he, whatever. But not “it”. If you have issues? Take it up with my editor. 

Anyways, with the help of our town’s City Council and the local branches of the Government, the Monsters were allowed to settle in and start to piece together lives for themselves. Many simply wanted a roof over their head and food to eat, warmth and hearth, and then there were people like my Mother who wanted more. She petitioned for a good month or so to set up a small school on the outskirts of Town where she could teach younger Monster youth the ways of their new Human brethren, and how to make it in this new world. She got her request and was content.

And yes, if you were curious, Asgore has remained close to Torial in spite of their muddied past. He works as the School’s groundskeeper/janitor and lives in a trailer on campus. To her he is little more than a overly chubby annoyance, a constant reminder of what things used to be like, but to me he was like a Father. Asgore always had a smile ready for me, a cup of tea in hand, and the best hugs.

Undyne was another Monster who ended up pitching in to help around the school, working as the Gym teacher and Extracurricular Activities Director. She slipped into her role with ease and does seem to enjoy it. Also where there is Undyne, Alphys was not far away; either in thought or person. The two females had become quite the pair, subtle but still very sweet. Speaking of Alphys she was hired to be the school’s science teacher and on her first day in she introduced them to Mettaton who, as you can assume, was a huge hit with the kids; earning the little yellow woman high prize in her even littler charges wonder. 

Papyrus has his own restaurant, Italian, and serves one thing. Spaghetti. Oh, but what he does with the Spaghetti is what makes his food so fantastic! Since being introduced to modern cooking supplies and workshops that teach people how to cook, the taller Skeleton has been having a field day with any type of spaghetti themed recipe. First he started out by just making different versions of salty and savory of the noodle dish, but then he meet donuts (not the ones made by spiders, but the actual real kind of donuts) and just had to try and make a spaghetti version. After two years of failed attempts Papyrus finally did it, with thinly fried noodles drizzled in a layer of sugar glaze and top with sprinkles. Now after six years in business the great Papyrus has over ten unique spaghetti entries, three desert spaghetti’s, and my favorite above all . . . spaghetti and meatball on a stick. It’s fried with a layer of egg and flower, filled with chunks of meatball and red sauce, the spaghetti noodles of course, and then mozzarella cheese. Lots of mozzarella cheese! It’s poked on a stick and served fresh from the fryer. 

And finally the last from the inner circle . . . Sans. Sans doesn’t do much to be honest. He lives next door with Papyrus and spends his time walking about town in some weird day-dreaming haze. At times, I think he acts like he’s high but I know he isn’t the sort to get into that stuff. When he’s not set in a mindless drone mode Sans spends time as a busboy for Papyrus, hanging out with me and Torial, or sleeping. He and Mother are seeing each other, like romantically, but I just have never been able to think of him as any sort of Father figure. He’s more like an Uncle, or older Brother. Sans is just Sans.

I can’t give you all of what each and every Monster had done with their live after we all left the underground, but know that in our Town (Under Rock) they were given the chance to become something better than just themselves. If they took those opportunities or not was their prerogative. As the “Ambassador”, one of my roles was to try and encourage people to bet better than they were before, but not everything was resolved by being nice and many were too stubborn to move out of old thoughts. Those individuals stick to the woods mostly, only coming into town to get supplies and leave as quickly as they show themselves. I got tired of trying to convince these outcasts to integrate with society, so they are left alone for the most part.

Personally what I am up to is typical for a 23 year old studying law, packed full with loads of coffee and books and more coffee and even more books. When I’m not busy studying or helping Mother with her schooling, I do enjoy a good video game. Sometimes I sketch the treeline that makes up our backyard, some of their limbs just within reach to where I can pull them in for closer detail, and I am known to play a part in the Town’s chess tournaments. I have a few friends in and outside of school, like Monster Kid: Mk for short. If I had to say I had a best friend it would be MK, but more on him later.

As I said before, Sans and Mother had been seeing each other for a long time; nine years I believe, maybe eight. In the Underground it had been sort of a crush between the two, good friends who would share their really terrible puns with each other, and then we all the Monsters were freed to the surface the two became closer. There was a lot of blushing, tons of hand holding, walks together on sunny days, all the casual couple things. After that Mother and Sans became an official couple, and for many years after that everyone was waiting for them to Marry. Almost a century later and no ring, no great growth in their relationship, and to me and many others this was a worrying sign. We didn’t see the pieces that connected to the crash of their relationship, but now that I look back it was so painfully evident.

I wish I had done something. I wish I had the knowledge to be there for Sans when she said no. 

I remember that Mother and Sans had gone out for dinner at a rather fancy restaurant in the next town over, with a rented limo and everything. Sans even wore a tux, one that i helped down to the detail. I placed a rose in his coat pocket and smiled to beat away his nervousness. He had been so eager, so nervous, so afraid. I assured him that all would do well and how much of I was looking forward to him being my step dad. They left at about five pm and I waited in the living room, my own heart beating wildly on the awaiting news.

I had thought she would say yes, I had thought they were ready to be together forever, I had thought she was a loyal partner.

I looked to the clock above the television and sighed, eleven pm and not a single sign of them. It was safe to assume that maybe they had just got caught in the overwhelming happiness and were taking their time coming home, but I couldn’t help the twisting sensation in my gut. With a little huff I rose from the leather chair and walked upstairs to my room, flopping onto my bed; causing some of my school books bounce about. 

I recalled the urge to call up MK on my computer and talk to him about it all, but then there was a slam of the front door. My body nearly fell over itself twice as I rushed back down the stairs, a wide grin set to my face. But it was zapped from me as I saw only Mother there, slowly taking off her winter coat and removing her shoes. I came to her, floorboards squeaking under my socks, and she turned to me as I tapped her shoulder.

I signed. “ _Did you have fun? Did Sans go home to sleep?_ ”

My Mother’s eyes were red, wet, and swollen. I regretted my question and tried to sign again, but she stopped my by gentle holding my hands within her paws. Her voice was shaking. “My Child . . . we shall talk in the morning, yes? For now I . . . I need rest. Sleep well.” With a light kiss to my forehead Torial was gone, going to her room and closing the door behind her.

I blinked in confusion, brows creasing in mild upset. what had happened? Nothing good by her account. I gathered my own coat and boots before rushing out into the freezing season. I narrowed my vision into the snow flurry, looking next door to see of Sans was entering his own home. The front porch light was out so all I could take in was the dark facade of the skeleton brother’s abode. I remember grimacing as I stepped out into the deep snow, making my way to their driveway and up the sidewalk that came to their oak door. 

I knocked with their skull shaped knocker, a rusted brass, and waited; shivering as a harsh wind blew over me. Nothing. this time I knocked with my hand, wracking bare knuckles against the wood with loud thuds. The last knock was enough to make the door creak open a bit, for it had not been completely closed in the first place - it was like someone came in and just lazily let it slide closed. I entered and closed the door behind me. Being mute made calling out pointless, so I just kept knocking along pieces of furniture to let either Sans or Papyrus know I was there. I was greeted only by the deafening darkness. There were a few lamps littered about the small living room that I turned on, their almost sickly yellow light giving me only a dim mask of light to see in. 

I heard Sans first before I saw him, the man jumbled onto a dark sofa with his tux a mess and figure perfectly still. He was crying, a low and guttural sob that he was trying to break and hide. I approached carefully, cautiously, letting Sans spot me without startling him to much.

“Hey there kid . . . what are you doing here?” His voice was so tired, downtrodden, and I moved to sit by him so he could see my hands.

“ _I could ask you the same. What happened? Mother came home very sad._ ”

“Sad? Yeah . . . that sounds about right.” Sans shunned his gaze from me down to the ground, closing his eyes with a little sniff. “She said no, Kid.”

I felt like asking a million questions, fingers fiddling about to try and make a coherent sentence, but none came. “ _Sans, I am very sorry._ ”

“Don’t be, Kid. It wasn’t your fault.” One eye was watching me, sadness pooling in the low blue hue building there. Sans was good at trying to play calm, but anyone would know when you see the blue it’s best to lay off. 

Whatever side of fortune deemed it though, good or bad, I was never one to lay off something. “ _So, what was to fault? Did she not like the flowers? The ring didn’t have a big enough rock on it?_ ” I tried to smile at that, but Sans must have seen my own sadness and his answer was flat; blunt.

“Kid, please, not now. I just . . . go home.”

“ _I don’t think so._ ”

“Frisk.”

“ _Can’t make me! Hold on, I’m going to get you a drink._ ” I stood and went to the kitchen, flipping in lights as I went, and dove into the spaghetti filled fridge to find a bottle of beer. I popped the lid off on the counter and turned to head back to Sans. I stood in front of him and gave a sigh, for her had fallen asleep; slumped over himself with the most unsettled snore set to his chest. It was like a mix of a whimper and a groan, lost to the sadness of Torial’s denial. I sighed and placed the bottle down. Considering that Sans was all but four-foot-something and I at an impressive five-six, he was easy to pick up; if not just a little bit cumbersome.

There was a shred of luck to me taking the knocked out Skeleton to his room. He was on the first floor I avoided a battle with the stairs. I used one of my feet to kick open his door, letting it swing softly before going in. I didn’t bother to turn on the light, just merely feeling my way with my feet to his bed. With a heave Sans was nestled on his bed and I removed his shoes, saving his sheets from snow and mud stains. I looked for an extra blanket and tossed it over him in making sure he was as comfortable as possible. 

Mother was always good after a difficult situation to pick herself back up, she was a strong woman like that, but Sans . . . Sans was always a bit softer to such things; not really sensitive, but something along those lines. To this day It is difficult to explain. All I knew in that moment was Torial was going to be ok, she and I would talk in the morning and then her healing would begin, but Sans would be a slow burn back to recovery. 

With another sigh I went to pet the top of San’s head, bringing up the blanket about his neck just a little bit more. But there was a moment’s hesitation in me as I looked over Sans’s skull, closed eye socket letting out tiny streams of tears. I had seen a skeleton sweat before, I had seen a skeleton spit before, drink water before, eat food before, I had even seen a skeleton bleed before. But never had I ever seen a skeleton cry before.

I’m not sure how long I stood there like a creeper and watched Sans cry in his sleep, but I will painfully never forget that skeletons do cry.


	2. Coffee over Tea

I can’t actually remember driving over to Asgore’s trailer, but I remember the anger coursing in me as I held the steering wheel; a death grip that turned my fingers white. My Mother’s words keep echoing in my head, over and over, and at every red light they only soured my mood more. My car door slammed shut and my boots dug into the wet snowy ground as I stomped up to his doorstep. Asgore had been waiting for me, for I only had to bang on his door once before It creaked open.

The old King looked as if he hadn’t slept all night, which was a sore truth. His words were soft. “Hello Frisk. Would you like a cup of-”

I kicked the frame of his door in frustration, making sure his attention was jolted to my hands. I signed, finger furious. “ _When were you going to tell me Mother was cheating on Sans with you?!_ ”

Asgore sighed and stepped aside, giving me room to enter. I did and went straight for his couch, flopping on it with little care; dirt boots and all. I signed again. “ _Do you know how Pissed off I am?!_ ”

“I can tell.” Asgore closed the door with a low hung head before walking over to his recliner, sitting with a disgruntled frown. 

“ _Do you know how fucking sad Sans is? No, wait don’t answer that question. I know you do . . . which makes me sick._ ” I hid my face in my hands and took deep breathes, trying to find some sort of stillness in all my fury. I recalled a time when Torial called Asgore nothing but a miserable creature, as she called most who she found truly unpleasant, and I had always thought his past actions would stain Torial’s perception of Asgore for the rest of their lives. I had been mistaken. 

“Frisk . . . I’m sorry.”

“ _You should be! If you had only-_ ” I paused and tried again. “ _Why didn’t you and Mom just tell Sans sooner? Or better yet, why didn’t Mother just break it off with him beforehand?_ ”

“Your Mother didn’t explain?” Asgore tilted his head.

“ _She tried but her answers only made me angrier._ ” 

“And . . . you think what I can say might help?”

“ _No, but at least you're willing to take a beating for your actions._ ” I sat up, a dark glare set to my face. Another sore truth that I knew hurt him worse than any physical hit. We sat there, he and I, in the dim lights of his trailer, until his gaze broke from mine.

“We were planning on informing Sans, together, soon. Before January.”

“ _But then he asked her to Marry him._ ” I looked to a hanging wall calendar Asgore had mounted on a far wall, the big letters reading December 3rd. “Earlier than you thought.”

Asgore nodded. “Torial was unprepared; Sans planned the surprise all too well.”

“ _I helped._ ” I stood and signed with shake to my head. “ _Sans and I were so ready to try and have all three of us be a family, a real family. We worked out every detail, side by side. I was so ready . . . so eager._ ”

Asgore stood as well, walking over to me and hesitantly held out his arms. In spite of my anger I could not help but go to him and let Asgore hug me, mostly for his own sake; he was trembling. “I am so sorry, Frisk. This . . . this is the second time in your life I have wronged you, even when I promised never to do so again. Tori- . . . you’re Mother and I are both sorry.”

I hugged him back and closed my eyes, letting whatever emotions were to come wash over me. Anger was still very present, but soon came pity and sadness. I couldn’t hate them for what they did, for one of my firm beliefs was that an individual’s happiness must come first in their own lives before the needs of others, but I could at least be bitter with them for a while.

I wiggled out of the hug and Asgore’s hand rested on my shoulders while I signed again. “ _I’m gonna go talk to Sans._ ”

“Alright.”

“ _And I’m still going to be pissy with you for a while._ ”

“I understand . . .”

“ _. . . Can you and Mom at least try to keep yourselves low for a bit? No telling how all our friends are going to react to the news and I would rather there not be civil war between us._ ”

“I can do that. Are you sure . . . you wouldn’t like a cup of tea?” Asgore smiled, a bittersweet thing, motioning for his small kitchen. I shook my head and he understood, letting my shoulders go and let me go out his door.

I didn’t say goodbye, just rushing back to my car and buckled myself in in silence. It didn’t take long to find my way to Papyrus’s Spaghetti Parlor, pulling my car into it’s usual spot and headed inside. It was early morning so there was no rush for Italian, but in that wake the skeleton and his Robot companion were still busy with work. Mettaton was the director of the decor, his style reflected into the rooms with fresh coats of paints and new dining tables every week or so; doing his very best to keep up with latest fashion trends of the Interior decorating world. One week it would be French Noir with dark leathers and brass, and the next it could very well be the dinner of the 50s complete with pastel pinks and shiny plastics. 

Papyrus was content to let Mettaton do as he pleased, for all that mattered to him was the Spaghetti. 

Still in the rush of morning prep and cleaning they still had time for me. I knocked on the fogged glass door, watching both figures approach to unlock it for me. “Darling!” Mettaton’s hugs were perhaps my favorite. The robot flung his long limbs about about me, their coils wrapping in loops about my shoulders and ribs and stomach; like a great cuddle boa constrictor. More pink, less death. “Its so good to see you!”

I attempted to sign as I was pressed into Mettaton’s metal body. “ _I was just here the day before yesterday._ ”

“Oh! Has it been that long?! Come in, come in!” He pulled me in, releasing me from his embrace only to be scooped up into another.

“Human!” Papyrus held me up from the ground, his height making my feet dangle in the air, as he hugged me. I hugged him back and smiled. “Good morning! Wowie, you are up early today!” Those moments seemed to slow a bit for me and I remember feeling a great sense of hesitation. Not from me, but from Papyrus. He knew (how would he not have known?) and the towering skeleton was trying not to show it.

Eventually Papyrus set me down and I signed. “ _It’s good to see you both. Is . . . Is Sans in yet?_ ”

“I’m afraid not, Dear.” Mettaton sighed and glanced to the door, a look of worry in his gaze. “Usually, despite his lazy bones, he’s here to help me shuffle around some of the tables before going to nap under one. He’s two hours late.”

I looked to Papyrus who was looking down, his Skeleton frown unable to mask the peeking sadness. He turned quickly before Mettaton would see and went to start prepping the kitchen for Lunch. Papyrus had not told Mettaton yet what had happened last night, the pain to recent perhaps to tell; even to Mettaton.

“Why? Are you waiting on him to?” Mettaton turned back to me with his same cheery smile, an infectious thing that I could not help but reciprocate. “Well, we can wait together. Come alone, darling! We have this new coffee bean from Peru and you must simply try it! Oh. My. God. It is heavenly!”

I was sat at the counter and my coat was removed as I watched the Robot make me a cup of coffee; lost to my own thoughts. I thought back to Torial sitting in our kitchen, her eyes set down to a small picture frame in her hands. It was an image of her and Sans at my 13th birthday party and he had made bunny ears behind my head. She smiled and a tear melted into her furry cheek. It was after this that I barraged her with my integration and she flipped the image face down. I knew then this was serious, breaking the foundations we had all built together since leaving the Underground. Even then as I watched Mattaton happily brew away the Peru bean that things would never be the same again.

To what extent was still unknown.

“Here we are.” The little cup of dark liquid sat in front of me snapped my mind back to reality.

“ _No cream?_ ” 

“That's the recipe, Darling. You’ll see when you give it a taste!” He grinned, waiting on me. I didn’t delay at his enthusiasm and sipped. My smile only added to Mettaton’s delight. “Do you adore it, my little one? Oh yes, I can tell - you are in heaven!” 

I signed with a nod. “ _Yes! It is very good. Smooth on the tongue with a hint of something . . . floral? Almost chocolate too, but you didn’t add anything?_ ” 

“Nope. Not a single drop of added flavoring! It’s all natural and Organic, fresh from the earth! Let me tell you it is going to bring some culture to this dreadful little mountain town, the next big things since . . . well, since me!”

My laugh was mute but it still rocked my chest. If there was one thing about Mettaton that all could admire to this day, it was his high sense of confidence. “ _Thank you for letting me try it._ ”

“Anytime! Heh, hm . . . do you think Sans will like it?” Mettaton looked back to the front door, eyes scanning the empty streets outside. “If he got here sooner I would have my answer straight from his own skull. I should call him, I worry about the poor thing.”

“ _Mettaton, wai-_ ” He turned away from me before I could sign out my sentence long arm extending to the phone on a counter. Lucky for me, Papyrus was there before Mettaton could dial in his brother’s number.

The two looked at each other for a few seconds, the smile on Mettaton’s face dropping as Papyrus didn’t let go. He blinked in confusion. “Papy, let me go you silly bones! I wanna call Sans, he’s-”

“I gave him the day off.” Papyrus said shortly, only letting Mettaton’s hand once he knew the robot would not act on his urge. “He’s not coming into work today.”

“Well . . . if you told me this before I could have worried less.” Mettaton sighed and placed his hands on his hips, giving the skeleton a somewhat bemused look. At not getting the read he wanted from Papyrus, Mettaton looked back to me; a single metallic brow raising up. We three were stuck in the awkward silence for a little too long and he huffed. “Well, do you mind telling me then why? A hint at the least?”

Papyrus and I looked to each other, as if asking each other for permission. I nodded and Papyrus spoke for us both. “My Brother . . . he took the Queen out for dinner last night.”

“Oh . . .OH!” Mettaon’s smile returned as he assumed too much, a giddy shake set to his hands as he bit his lower lip in excitement. “Did he do it? Did he finally ask her? Oh My GOD! Finally! Oh! That means a wedding won’t be far away. We should get started as soon as possible with the dinner menu and entertainment. We-!” Mettaton found stillness again as one of Papyrus’s hands went to tenderly grip at the pink shoulder, his head tilting to the side. “ . . .M-Maybe not so soon, but . . . Papy?”

“ . . . She said no.” It hurt Papyrus more than Mettaton once that ice was broken, the cook turning away to work on getting a few stacks of dishes down from a high shelf. “Sans is going to need some time, as much as he needs. So . . .So the Great Papyrus and you will just have to work extra hard, ok?” Papyrus still smiled, I know not how, even as a few little tears built into his eye sockets. It was the 2nd time I had seen a skeleton cry and It was no better a sight to witness.

“ . . . Of . . . Of course, Love.” Mettaton went to Papyrus, bring their foreheads together in a gentle nuzzle. He smiled with such soft fondness and comfort as metal digits went to pet the bone cheek, the men locked in their soft comforts. I let my gaze fall from them and back down to my coffee, striking a single finger in the drink and stirred it; the steaming heat not bothering me. I had lost most physical sensations long ago in the battle of control over the souls . . .

After that Papyrus and Mettaton went back to work and I parted with an extra cup of coffee to go, settling back into my car to drive to the skeleton brother’s home. 

I didn’t really have the option to hide my car as I parked it in the driveway opposite of my own, my Mother’s living room window wide and open so the facade of San’s house was always visible. But I didn’t really need to hide, It wasn’t a betrayal to her own pain . .for she had caused it all her own and I was just trying to help a friend through her blunder. I sighed, my breath puffing into the air, as I looked over the dark windows of our home before going up the walkway to Sans’s front door. I knocked with my boot and waited, nothing greeting me; as expected.

One musical-chairs-session of coffee cups later I had a free hand on the door handle and clicked it open, closing it with my hip once I was inside. Still dark dispute the open curtains for their living room. I didn’t have to guess where Sans would be, walking right to his bedroom and pushed it open with my shoulder. There in a mess of blankets and bones, Sans laying on his bed still in his tux.

I clicked my tongue loudly, trying to see if he would notice me in a feign of sleep or if he was truly still lost to his dreams. Nothing. I closed the door behind me and placed the coffees on a clear spot on Sans’s desk. After that I went to removing my coat, sweater, and boots - walking over to him with socks on and kneeling down to his face; watching him for a second. He looked like shit. I clicked my tongue again and waited. Slowly one of his eyes opened, grim in the dim light of his bedroom without the usual little white light to show which direction he was looking. 

Sans groaned and closed his eye again. “Hey Kid.”

I smiled and went to poke the bridge of non-existent nose till he looked at me again. I signed before he had the chance to hide his face. “ _I brought coffee. Fresh from Mettaton and Papyrus’s._ ” 

“Black?”

“ _Of course. Come on, lets get you up._ ” I held out my hands after that to Sans and he just looked at me for the longest time; maybe annoyed. I gave him a smirk and clicked my tongue repeatedly, loudly, and finally Sans cave in. His bones slipped in my fingers and I pulled him up. Once Sans was up right I went to get our coffees, sitting beside him on the bed on a quilt that looked oddly famil- . . . Torial made it for Sans last December. 

I held out the cup to Sans and he took it gingerly. “Thanks Kid.” He signed back the thanks as well as speaking it, just one of his little things Sans always did, then took a long drag of the drink; the liquid vanishing . . .somewhere. To this day I have no idea how the digestive tract of a being that didn’t own a digestive tract could be scientifically logical. Then again, the world of Monster kind was magic and Human was technology - and that left too many uncomfortable gaps between the physics on both genres for both sides. It was a give-and-take scenario. 

“ _No problem._ ” I too took a drink from my coffee and sighed, looking up to Sans’s ceiling with mild interest. There were those old fashioned glow in the dark stars stuck on the starkingly white plaster above us, some dust gathered at their pointy edges. I sighed. “ _Your room is filthy._ ” 

“And this coffee is cold, but you don’t see me complaining.”

I jolted my head to Sans and his coffee, ready to sass him, but that smile held back any crudeness. My Mouth was ajar for a moment, then frowned as I asked. “ _Its not really cold, is it?_ ”

“Kid, I was messin’ with you. Relax. It’s good stuff.” Sans chuckled with chug of the coffee, letting the empty cup clatter to the carpet. 

I scowled. “ _Didn’t I just say your room is filthy?! Put it in the garbage can, I bought you one for that reason!_ ”

“You sound like Toriel . . .”

“ _. . . Well then, mother like daughter_.” I sighed and put my coffee down on the side table before rolling off the bed to gather Sans’s trash; gathering it all up and shoving into the small metal can. I could feel Sans’s eyes follow me about his room as I got deeper involved in the cleaning, folding clothes, whipping down his computer, stacking books, all that maidly shit. He eventually got off his ass and helped and after a good half hour we had the room clear of clutter and straightened up. 

We both found ourselves back onto his bed, laying down, our gazes set up to the little fake stars; properly cleared of the dust bunnies. 

I held up my hands and signed more so he could watch. “ _Sans . . . I really am sorry._ ”

“Yeah, me too Kid.”

“ _We were pretty close, huh?_ ”

“Close? To what?”

“ _To being family._ ” It looked to Sans, my bangs falling over my brow as they crashed into sadness again. 

“ . . . We can still be? Family?” Sans sounded desperate, a quake to his voice that threatened tears again. My words hurt when I didn’t mean them to.

“ _Of course we can. I meant-what I- . . . We are always gonna be family, Sans._ ” I corrected myself with a smile, my own tears welling up at the corners of my vision. “ _Forever . . . or when you get tired of me, whatever comes first._ ”

“I could never tire of you Kid. Not ever.”

Time slipped past us both as Sans and I laid on his bed, speaking hours just talking and being there with each other. Eventually night fell and real stars bloomed above us. I waited for Papyrus to come home before I left, giving both of them lingering hugs then turned to walk across the street. Torial was in her room and, from what I could hear from behind the door, was watching TV. 

I returned myself to my own room, flicking on the fairy-lights that hung about my window and drew out my sketch book. It was to late to sketch the trees that lived just outside the glass, the sun long abandoning the light needed to see them, so that night I spent two pages on nothing but the way Sans’s room was set up. There on the paper was every detail, and fine corner and swooping shirt, and it ended . . . with Sans asleep on his favorite quilt.


	3. Old Soil

Telling Flowy what had happened between Toreil and Asgore was probably one of the most awkward things in my life. I planed a day to pack some supplies and prepare an alibi for my trip into the Mountain; a simply camping trip I told anyone who asked. Going back to the Underground was not a comfortable notion for many in the Monster community, taboo even, but I had to go; to get away from the town and the people and the drama. There was only so much of a brave face I could put on for everyone, only so much I could do to help when I myself was heading for a ditch to fall in. I know when I’d fall that Flowy, Asriel, would be waiting for me at the very bottom. 

I left home in the early hours of the day, tracking out into the dark morning with soft footsteps into the deep snow. By later afternoon I had climbed to the very top to the cavern’s opening, looking down that one fateful hole and the cold void that lay below. I didn’t really need to even scale down into the cave to know he was there waiting; he had a habit of knowing when things were wrong. I beat the grounding rod into the earth and hood cords around metal, safe in my harness as I made the descent. He was already making comments at me before my boots hit the ground. 

“One cut of that cord and you could have fallen. With a snap you’d have gotten quite the nasty broken leg.” He giggled. “Motionless on the ground. Heh, maybe then at least I’d have some company. Until you’d have bleed out, I suppose.”

I looked about at the frost covered weeds of the underground, the cold and snow killing off the once beautiful patches of yellow flowers that has cushioned my first fall into the monster world. All save one. I signed. “ _Nice to see you too, you little yellow asshole._ ”

“Name calling already? Tsk, you haven't changed.” The flower moved about in the dirt, circling me, glimpses of little green roots acting as paddles through a brown water. 

“ _Neither have you._ ” I went to sit in the dirt, a patch of dead grass for padding, and watched Flowy - and he watched me. We sat there for a few seconds before I opened up my arms to him.

“What? You want a hug?” He asked, a tone of disgust in his voice.

I nodded, fingers wiggling and arms still ready.

“Now? After all this time you-OUF!” Flowy was cut off as he was scooped from the old soils of the cave and cuddled into my arms. There were many protests and curse words tossed at me as I hugged him, but eventually the plant went still; limp in my arms as he accepted the affection. “Wow, you really haven't changed . . . stupid. Can . . .can you put me down now? . . . Please?”

I did as he requested and we sat there for a second round of looks, taking a few deep breaths before signing again. “ _So, I have news._ ”

“If it’s about how your Human politicians intend to fill in the Underground for stability of the mountain, you can tell them to fuck off.”

I shook my head and continued. “ _No . . . You’re Mother and Father are getting back together. Sort of._ ”

Flowly’s eyes widened and his jaw eschewed. I wasn’t sure how to read his emotions, unless given it was one of his more angered faces, but from what I could tell . . . he was shocked, floored, stunned, and perhaps a bit disturbed. “Are . . . are you messing with me?”

“ _You think I’d risk getting caught and scolded for coming back up here to just mess with you? I’m serious._ ”

He remained stiff for quite sometime, the only movement coming from the tiny flower being his pupils looking over my face; as if trying to find any trace of a lie. “Why? Why after all this time would they ever want to be together again? I had thought . . . Tell me why!”

“ _Do you really want to know?_ ”

“Yes! Spit it out!” Flowly’s fangs flashed out at me as he snarled.

“ _They just sort of,_ ” I was going to glaze over the whole situation for help keep everyone’s reputations clean “ _, started seeing each other without telling anyone. I didn’t hear about it till they were very serious about getting back together. Yesterday I noticed Mo-Toriel was packing away a few things._ ”

“Are they going to move back in together?” I shrugged at his question, for I didn’t even know what Mother was up to. 

I had kept my distance from Torial since all that mess started, an awkward distance for sure, and I hadn’t had time to ask what she was doing before setting out to the mountain. It was then a bolt of fear stabbed at my chest, lungs tightening and breath stuck. When I would come home from visiting Flowy . . . would she still be at home? Would my Mother up and move out without me to go live with Asgore in his tiny-ass trailer? Or maybe she was packing up things to put into storage, so that Asgore could move in with us? Either option, any option, struck me so deep that I still hold that uncertainty to this day. 

“Hey!” Flowy barked at me and I was popped back to the present. “You just gonna space out like a total ditz, or talk to me?!”

I shook my head and signed with a frown. “ _Yes, sorry. I . . .I honestly don’t know what they are going to do. All I know is that things are very tense for now, and I don’t know how long it will last._ ”

“So you came to me to do what, exactly?” 

“ _To tell you what has happened . . . maybe to bring you back with me?_ ” I had no idea where that thought had come from at the time, but later on I discovered that the sudden realization of Torial possibly moving out when I was away on the mountain drove me to try and hold onto anyone I could; and in that singular instant - that was Flowy. I didn’t want to be alone. I didn’t want to be hurt or be sad, curled up in a dark room with the feeling of abandonment. I didn’t want to end up feeling just like Sans. 

“And what good would that do?!” Flowy yelled at me, his petals stretching out like the hackles on a dog. “Y-You think since they are getting back together that I- . . .that I have some fucking chance to be their son again!? T-To be loved again, to be . . . happy again?”

I didn’t have an answer for him, I had no right to give him any answer that could lead to a false sense of hope. All I wanted to do was get away for a day and give him the news that was owed to him. What he did with it, assumed with it, was his alone. Eventually that bitter flower began to wilt and take shape of something else, the yellow petals mellowing into a soft white fur and the green skin of his stem stitching itself into a striped sweater. 

Asriel sat before me and there were tears in his eyes. “You . . .really would take me back?”

“ _If you want to go, of course. We’d just have to do this very carefully._ ”

“Like what?” Asriel scooted closer to me, waiting for my plan.

“ _Well . . . like, I’m not sure how this is all gonna fit into place given how fresh their renewed relationship is. They have to get used to each other again, and then tossing you back into the mix could hamper them. It could bring out old wounds and old grudges, old pains, and then they’d be-_ ”

“-right back to hating each other. I understand.” Asriel nodded with a sigh. “Maybe . . . Maybe we should wait a while before letting me come back to them. You can come get me when everything has settled, a-and then we . . .we can all be a family again!” He smiled, such a warm and happy thing that I thought was gone forever. “Would that work?”

I nodded and smiled with Asriel, spending those precious hours with him till nightfall called to set up my camp. By the time everything was set up, Asriel had shrunk back down to Flowy and skittered off into the night (no doubt off to some damp place of the cave to rest his roots) while I sat solemnly by the small campfire; nothing but my thoughts and the cracking of the wood to keep me company. I had planned to get a decent night’s sleep, to have enough energy for the venture back down the mountain and to face whatever waited for me back home, but Asriel had other plans. He didn’t stay in that damp spot for long.

I remember crawling into my tent, cuddling in my sleeping bag, and nodding off periodically through the night. I also remember feeling his hand about my neck, around my jaw, shaking me awake with his deep tone. “Frisk, frisk wake up! Wake up!” My eyes opened, and above me was the shape of Asriel that was even worse than the Omega Flowy. His older, Princely self with those black markings and glaring gaze piercing down onto me. He smirked darkly. “Good. Now that I-Will you stop wiggling?!”

The man-boy had an advantage over me, literally, as I was zipped into my sleeping bag and his much heavier body was straddled over my legs. but that didn’t stop me from kicking or writhing about. “I need. To talk. To yo-OUCH! Hey, I’m not going to hurt you, just stop-RAGH!” He yelled and sweared at me as we wrestled for dominance of the situation, for I was not dumb enough to let the fully formed version of Asriel win out this argument. Our Childhood boss fights gave me that initiative to show just how wrong he was to try and spring me. “Frisk! For fucks sake just-AH! T-that hurt, you little-!!”

Eventually I won, tossing Asriel off me to the side, and moving quickly out of my sleeping bag; fists up for a fight. He coughed a few times, rising his head with a look of disillusionment. “I wasn’t going to hurt you! Not that I could anyways . . . you bit me!”

I signed quickly. “ _You’re lucky it was just your ear! Now, what did you want to talk about; before you violated my personal space?_ ”

The older Asriel sat up, shaking his head and beating off the scuffle from his purple robes. “I was getting there . . . until you kneed me in the stomach!” 

“ _Still your fault. Now, if we can hurry this along?_ ” I went to help him stand up, holding out my hand for his clawed paw to grab. With a heave Asriel was back on his feet, and it was then that I noticed something. I smiled. “ _You’re taller than me, at least when you're in this state._ ”

“Considering that my other forms are a flower or a child, good observation.” He said sarcastically with a little eye roll. “Am I allowed to talk now?” I gave him a small nod and he went on. “I want to come back with you tomorrow.”

“ _What happened to then ‘Let's wait till my parents are settled’ idea?_ ” I asked.

“I’m selfish and impatient, you should know this by now.” Asriel jabbed a joke at himself, but he didn’t smile. “Frisk . . . It's just too damn lonely down here. I miss Monsters, I miss my family, and mostly . . . I miss having someone to talk to. Even if it is someone as harsh as you.”

“ _I’m harsh now? For biting your ear?_ ” I smirked. “ _I know a few people who’d love for me to bite their ear, but I guess it’s not for everyone._ ” That earned me a heavy glare. “ _I’m sorry. You were saying?_ ”

“Yes, as I was saying.” The Prince cleared his throat, a bit disheveled at first about what to say but he found the words after a few paces back and forth. “I want to go home. No, I need to go home. Maybe with Mom and Dad getting back together I can . . . I can perhaps get a soul again. A singular shape, a chance to be . . . me again. No more flowers, no more child. I can be the man I was supposed to grow up and be. I can make my parents proud of-” I tapped Asriel on his shoulder and he turned back to me. 

He didn’t expect the hug. My arms wrapped around his neck and I stood on my tip toes, trying to comfort him the best I could. I released Asriel and signed slowly so he could read my words to their fullest extent. “ _I’d love to take you home. And I know your mother and father would love to have you home. But . . . it’ll take time - Time for them to understand just what exactly happened to you, time for them to find peace in the past, and time for them to ready another future with you back in it. Trust me when I say I will take you home tomorrow, but we have to keep you out of sight and out of mind from Torial and Asgore until they themselves are ready. So just . . . give them time?_ ”

“I’ve given them and you, and hundreds of others, the time needed . . . but I understand.” Asriel sighed and looked down to the ground, his body showing the strains of keeping his current shape. “I’ve waited this long,” The threads of his facade faded away, and Flowy was at my feet once more. “, I can wait another week or two . . . I guess.”

“ _Good. Now, come here._ ” Even with another round of his protests, Flowy was cuddled into my arms as I went to zip us up together in the sleeping bag. I couldn’t help but grin the whole time as I settled in for sleep.

“See, you see?! This is what I meant! I am a full blooded man under these petals, and you just pick me up like a little doll! Ridiculous!” Flowy huffed and tried to get away, but to his point and dismay, he was stuck in my embrace; sighing again and again as his roots wrapped around my pillow. Sleep eventually claimed us, the cave’s echoing tunes helping ease our differences into peaceful dreaming.


End file.
